Track and field in Jamaica, particularly western Jamaica, could receive a shot in the arm as a result of a four-day visit to the island by Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics.

Lord Coe, who is taking a break from his vacation in the region, is expected to have talks with various stakeholders including the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) as well as the Government to find ways the sport’s global governing body can assist with helping the sport recover from the setback caused by Hurricane Melissa in late October.

Helen Delaney, World Athletics’ director – international relations and development, arrived in the island on Friday evening, while Lord Coe is expected to arrive on Sunday.

Garth Gayle, president of the JAAA, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that the reason for Lord Coe’s visit was “about hurricane Melissa and the devastation that it had wreaked on the western end of the island. How, as the president of the world governing body, they can play their role in helping to assist us.”

Among the various stops on his short visit, Lord Coe is expected to visit the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Tuesday to get a first-hand view of the devastation caused to the complex by the hurricane on October 28.

As a result of the hurricane, the stadium, which hosted the Carifta Games in 2011, was flooded, leaving inches of clay on the football field and 400m synthetic running track. The four flood light towers were also badly damaged, while the electrical fixtures suffered significant water damage.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer in November, Yoni Epstein, president of Jamaica Premier League club Montego Bay United, who use the facility for home games and who chairs a committee that has put in a bid to lease the facility, had estimated the damage to the facility at over $300 million.

On Friday, Gayle said Lord Coe, who was on vacation in a neighbouring Caribbean island, made the decision to visit and said based on discussions with the World Athletics head “the support will come in various forms. I won’t speak to it at the moment, because I would allow for him to do that, and I am sure he will come with positive and good things for track and field development here in Jamaica.”

The passage of the hurricane had severely damaged a number of schools in the region, primarily in the parishes of Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, Hanover, St James, and Trelawny.

At a meeting between the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), coaches, heads of physical education departments in high schools, and other stakeholders there were appeals for assistance in various forms, including procurement of gear and equipment to replace those that had been destroyed during the hurricane.

The coaches had also complained about the cost of having to travel to Kingston every weekend to compete given they were not able to use the track at the Catherine Hall complex because of disrepair.

On Monday, Lord Coe along with the JAAA president is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, the Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding, and President of the JOA Christopher Samuda before a welcome cocktail party later in the day.

The delegation is scheduled to travel to Montego Bay on Tuesday after a courtesy call on the mayor of Kingston and will leave the island on Wednesday after a press conference at the JAAA boardroom set to start at 9:00 am.

On Monday, April 18, 2022 during the Carifta Games at the National Stadium in Kingston, Sebastian Coe (centre), president of World Athletics, poses with members of Jamaica’s Under-20 4X100m relay team, which broke the World Junior Championships record in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 2021. The record breakers, who clocked 42.92s, are (from left) Tina Clayton, Serena Cole, Tia Clayton, and Kerrica Hill. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Garth Gayle, president of Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, and Sports Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange are set to meet with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe over the next couple of days during his visit to Jamaica. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe is expected in the island on Sunday for a series of meetings and to discuss support for Jamaica’s track and field infrastructure, which has suffered damages due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. (Photo: AFP)